As us SQL professional folks know, since the advent of SQL Server Integration Services, affectionately known as SSIS, it has become the ETL tool of choice to do a gazillion and one things to transform, convert, migrate, massage, import, export, slice, dice, and move around data real nice, between multiple data sources, platforms and flat files. You can even use it to develop, code, handle events, derive columns,variables and also do lookups - but that part is a bit fuzzy to me :-) SSIS is an integral part of the SQL Server RDBMS platform, and invaluable part of the SQL Server BI toolkit.

As we get set for the long awaited and official launch of SQL Server 2012, many SSIS stalwarts have been scouring the new version for new features for SQL Server Integration Services, and there are many.

So, what's new is SSIS for SQL Server 2012? Well, you can read the incomplete MSDN article, by clicking on the previously highlighted link, that was put together for CTP3 (then SQL Denali), and RC0.

Or, if you're local in the NY/NJ area, you could attend the sure to be awesome special guest appearance by SQL MVP, author, trainer, SQLPeople founder, Linchpin People CSO, and SSIS expert, Andy Leonard (blog|twitter), tonight at the New Jersey SQL Server User group. Check out the details on their site at NJSQL.org, as Andy rolls out his new presentation Building Your First SSIS Package in SQL Server 2012! The user group, headed by Melissa Demsak, aka SQLDiva, will tonight be sponsored by Idera Software, as food, drinks, refreshments, and giveaways will be served!

Just in case you cannot make tonight's user group presentation, you'll have another opportunity to catch Andy at the upcoming A Day of SSIS (precon on April 13, 2012), along side the Atlanta SQL Saturday #111, on April 14, 2012. He will be co-presenting with Matt Masson (Blog | @mattmasson), developer at Microsoft, on the SQL Server Integration Services team.

So, if you're into SSIS, then you'll also want to check out Matt's compiled list of Top 10 Features You Didn’t Already Know About for SSIS, which talks about features and improvements to the ETL platform such as: Change Data Capture (CDC), ODBC support, flat file sources, connectivity management, scripting, logging, troubleshooting, a new look for the Control Flow and Data Flow, and more! There's even support for Powershell in the SSIS catalog, for all you POS freaks, I mean aficianados. ;-)

There's also more exciting news on the way soon, so keep checking the PearlKnows blog. Thanks for reading this space!